Anti-encroachment drive: North Nazimabad loses two eateries

LG minister makes dramatic entrance in restaurant, seals it shut within 10 minutes

KARACHI:

The families having lunch at Pizza Hut in North Nazimabad Block A did not pay attention to the sirens blaring outside on Thursday afternoon. But when the LG minister, Sharjeel Memon, walked inside the restaurant and told them the facility will be sealed shut in 10 minutes, most of them lost their appetite.

“You have some time to finish your meals in peace,” said Memon at around 2:30pm. “I want to announce that the restaurant is going to be seized.”



Less than 15 minutes later, the restaurants of franchises Pizza Hut, Burger King and the local eatery Dilpasand Sweets were sealed shut with an official stamp of the local bodies’ minister.

A large crowd that had gathered outside the venue broke into applause as the demolition began. Most residents were happy they may be able to get back the park that once existed on this land. “It is a very good step,” said a resident, Faisal Sheikh. “These restaurants became a permanent problem for the residents and commuters in the area.”

Sheikh pointed out that the main road across the eateries is quite wide but was still affected by the worst traffic jams every day. “These restaurants had openly encroached on the triangular land that belonged to the traffic police [according to the original master plan].”

The 38-year-old remembered the time when there was just a traffic check post. “It was such a beautiful area with children playing but then the traffic mess ruined everything.”

The restaurants came to this land through a lease issued by the then town nazim, claimed Memon, adding that the contract ended in the year 2013 but the owners went to court to get a stay order against the demolition, he added.

Memon pointed out that it was unfortunate that neither the Karachi Building Control Authority nor the city master plan offices took any action. Even though the eateries have only been sealed, the minister was of the opinion that they must not reopen.

“The political backing for these restaurants helped them violate the city rules,” claimed another resident, Farid Memon.

According to a press statement released by the local government department, Memon suspended district Central administrator Kamal Mustafa and the district’s section officer Shamoon Sadaf for letting these restaurants run on encroached land. The cases of the then administrator, Latif Lodhi, will be sent to the anti-corruption department for further investigation, the statement said.

Background

In 2008, the North Nazimabad town municipal administration allowed Pizza Hut to set-up an outlet on the land earmarked for a traffic island under the city’s master plan. However, over the years, illegal car parking around the Pizza Hut outlet and Dilpasand Sweets and around the intermediate board office became a source of trouble for motorists.

The then deputy commissioner for district Central, Saifur Rehman, had told The Express Tribune that the crossing was very crucial as on its right side was Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, while on the other end was AO Clinic. The first step is to clear the long hours of blockades by redesigning the traffic intersection, and the next step would be to deal with these outlets, Rehman had said. “After all we are here for to serve the people,” he added.

KBCA North Nazimabad director Adil Umer had claimed they were unaware if the triangular traffic island was allocated for a traffic police check post or not, while an official of the KMC’s master plan office, Hafiz Muhammad Javaid, had given the same reply.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 3^rd, 2015.